Marcel Marceau

French pantomime artist, actor, author, and creator of the internationally acclaimed white-faced clown "Bip," Marceau was awarded two Emmys, a Knighthood in the French Legion of Honor, Officer's rank in the National Order of Merit and comedy rank in the National Order of Arts and Letters of France. He is the founder of the Compagnie de Mime Marcel Marceau in 1947 and Director of Ecole de Mimodrame Marcel Marceau established in 1978.

One of the most recognized performers of the 20th century, Marceau, whose real name was Marcel Mangel, grew up in Lille. He was the second son of a butcher, Charles, and homemaker, Ann, who taught their sons to cherish the family's Jewish traditions along with their father's Socialist philosophy. From an early age, Marceau began to imitate everything around him. "When I was five years old my mother took me to see Charlie Chaplin's moving pictures... I sat entranced... It was then I decided to become a mime." As a member of a summer theater group, he longed to play the Tramp and spent long hours imitating Chaplin's walk. He soon began imitating birds, trees, plants, animals and eventually everyday people. Encouraged by his parents to pursue a career in theater, he enrolled in the Lycee Fustel de Coulanges in Alsace but was unable to complete his training due to the outbreak out of WW II. Seeking refuge in Limoges, he studied ceramics and at age 17 won the Masson prize for his work in enamel.

Tragedy struck when his father was seized by the Nazis and died in Auschwitz. Marceau, in his zeal to help his fellow Jews escape the horror of the Nazi regime, assisted his brother Alain, a leader in the Limoges underground, in falsifying identification documents so young men could avoid the German labor camps, citizens could get fake ration cards and Jewish children could be safely smuggled into Switzerland.